


Last Meal

by Nekussa



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:01:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28022103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nekussa/pseuds/Nekussa
Summary: Trent Ikithon faces an unexpected opponent.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	Last Meal

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a scene that popped into my head, based on something said in C2E113, "A Heart Grown Cold." Not canon-compliant, probably not D&D compliant either, but kind of satisfying.

It was a coincidence, honestly, that the Mighty Nein were in Rexxentrum the day that a pack of gnolls decided to raid the city's markets. The Nein found themselves defending shopkeepers and customers at the north end of the market, while Trent Ikithon, Astrid and Eadwulf at his side, fought the creatures at the southern end.

Caleb, focused on pulling spell components from his pouch, felt a sharp pain as a well-hidden gnoll suddenly slashed at him. Seeing the beast preparing to attack again, the wounded wizard opted for his go-to response: polymorph. The last moment of the gnoll's life was spent in the teeth of a monstrous tyrannosaurus rex. With a sickening crunch, the t-rex bit through the gnoll and swallowed the remains whole.

After that, the fight was pretty much over. The gnolls were wiped out, and any inquiry into how exactly they'd gotten into downtown Rexxentrum was put on hold while dealing with the more immediate question of what to do about the t-rex standing in the market square.

Caleb-Rex bellowed in triumph, then looked around. He remembered his friends, he remembered this city, but he also remembered that he was a goddamned fucking apex predator, and that he didn't much like the old man standing at the far end of the market. 

Slowly he paced up to Ikithon, sniffing the air, hissing, baring his teeth, swishing his tail. He got right up in the old man's face, ignoring the calls of his friends to stand down. It was gratifying to see the old man flinch, if only for a moment. But then, Ikithon gathered his resolve and started to mutter arcane words. Caleb-Rex recognized he was up to something, but in t-rex form he wasn't quite swift enough mentally to understand...

"Drop the spell."

The command phrase entered Caleb-Rex's mind, burning with power. Caleb in his human form might have been able to resist Ikithon's command, but the t-rex's mind was more vulnerable. Caleb was forced let go of the polymorph spell.

Ikithon smiled, knowing he'd succeeded in dominating his former student. There was, however, one detail he hadn't accounted for.

As the polymorph spell faded, Caleb-Rex vomited the remains of the dead gnoll directly into Master Trent Ikithon's face.

There was a brief moment where everyone stared, stunned into silence. A Master of the Cerberus Assembly was standing in the very public market square, covered in t-rex puke.

For his part, Caleb began to panic as his normal mind reasserted itself and he realized what he'd just done. But there was also a bit, just a tiny bit, of his mind that was still thinking "apex predator!" Before the panic could win out, Caleb spun on his heels and marched straight towards his friends, watching their faces in the hopes that they'd warn him if Ikithon was about to send a fireball up his ass.

"I think we should go. Now!"


End file.
